2018–19 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey season

2018–19 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves
men's ice hockey season
2018–19 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves; men's ice hockey season
Conference	10th WCHA
Home ice	Sullivan Arena
Rankings
USCHO	NR
USA Today	NR
Record
Overall	3–28–3
Conference	2–23–3–2
Home	1–12–3
Road	2–16–0
Neutral	0–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Matt Curley
Assistant coaches	Mark Phalon; Matt Bruneteau
Alternate captain(s)	Cam Amantea; Nolan Nicholas; Nils Rygaard; Eric Sinclair
	Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey seasons; « 2017–18 2019–20 »

The 2018–19 Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey season was the 40th season of play for the program, the 35th at the Division I level and the 26th in the WCHA conference. The Seawolves represented the University of Alaska Anchorage and were coached by Matt Curley, in his 1st season.

Season

Any hope that the Seawolves would improve under new head coach Matt Curley were quickly banished when Alaska Anchorage dropped the opener 2–10. While they recovered to win the rematch a day later, the team's offense was too inept to get a second win for over two months. Alaska Anchorage had one of the worst offensive performances in the history of NCAA hockey, scoring just 40 goals in 34 games, and were shut out 11 times during the season. Throughout the season, the team struggled to even get chances on goal, averaging just over 22 shots per game while surrendering nearly 32 attempts on their own goal. Perhaps making the situation worse, Alaska Anchorage squandered many good performances by their goaltenders, who gave the team numerous chances to win, including two 0–0 finishes.

Despite producing the worst season in program history, Alaska Anchorage retained Curley as their head coach.^[1]

Departures

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Mason Anderson	Defenseman	United States	Left program (retired)
Matt Anholt	Forward	Canada	Graduation (retired)
Austin Azurdia	Forward	United States	Graduation (retired)
Jarrett Brown	Defenseman	Canada	Graduation (retired)
Alec Butcher	Forward	United States	Graduation (signed with Wheeling Nailers)
Alex Jackstadt	Forward	United States	Left program (retired)
Tanner Johnson	Defenseman	Canada	Graduation (retired)
Tad Kozun	Forward	Canada	Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Olivier Mantha	Goaltender	Canada	Graduation (signed with Syracuse Crunch)
Brandon Switzer	Forward	Canada	Left program (signed with Killarney Shamrocks)
Cameron Trott	Goaltender	Canada	Returned to juniors (Vernon Vipers)

Recruiting

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Carmine Buono	Defenseman	Canada	21	Burnaby, BC
Kris Carlson	Goaltender	United States	21	Centreville, VA
Zach Court	Forward	Canada	21	Winnipeg, MB
Malcolm Hayes	Defenseman	United States	23	Atlanta, GA; graduate transfer from Maine
Andrew Lane	Defenseman	United States	21	Brighton, MI
Jared Nash	Forward	Canada	20	Stratford, ON
Drayson Pears	Defenseman	Canada	20	Victoria, BC
Tanner Schachle	Forward	United States	21	Wasilla, AK

Roster

^[2]

No.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1	Brody Claeys	Sophomore	G	6' 4" (1.93 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	1996-10-02	Dauphin, Manitoba	Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL)	—
2	Nathan Renouf	Senior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	154 lb (70 kg)	1994-05-11	Mississauga, Ontario	Quinnipiac Bobcats (ECAC)	—
3	Andrew Lane	Freshman	D	5' 9" (1.75 m)	162 lb (73 kg)	1997-02-19	Howell, Michigan	Shreveport Mudbugs (NAHL)	—
4	Jonah Renouf	Senior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	154 lb (70 kg)	1994-05-11	Mississauga, Ontario	Quinnipiac Bobcats (ECAC)	—
5	Drake Glover	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1996-03-05	Anchorage, Alaska	Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)	—
7	Nolan Nicholas (A)	Junior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	1995-09-24	Thunder Bay, Ontario	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)	—
8	Drayson Pears	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	191 lb (87 kg)	1998-03-09	Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia	Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL)	—
10	Joe Sofo	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	1996-08-07	Sylvania, Ohio	Coulee Region Chill (NAHL)	—
11	Cam Amantea (A)	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	1994-02-17	Calgary, Alberta	Penticton Vees (BCHL)	—
12	Nils Rygaard	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1995-04-11	Cheektowaga, New York	Janesville Jets (NAHL)	—
14	Jared Nash	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	1998-01-16	Stratford, Ontario	Penticton Vees (SJHL)	—
15	Tanner Schachle	Freshman	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	1997-06-20	Wasilla, Alaska	Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)	—
16	Nicolas Erb Ekholm (A)	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1995-06-07	Malmö, Sweden	Malmö Redhawks J20 (J20 SuperElit)	—
17	Jordan Xavier	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	1997-08-05	Calgary, Alberta	Okotoks Oilers (AJHL)	—
18	Tomi Hiekkavirta	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	1996-04-05	Helsinki, Finland	HIFK U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)	—
19	Zac Masson	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1996-02-06	Newmarket, Ontario	Langley Rivermen (BCHL)	—
20	Corey Renwick	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	1995-03-28	Nanoose Bay, British Columbia	Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL)	—
21	David Trinkberger	Junior	D	6' 5" (1.96 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	1996-08-25	Landshut, Germany	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	—
22	Carmine Buono	Freshman	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	1997-02-22	Burnaby, British Columbia	Powell River Kings (BCHL)	—
23	Eric Sinclair (A)	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1996-02-19	Kenora, Ontario	Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL)	—
24	Malcolm Hayes	Graduate	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1995-04-21	Atlanta, Georgia	Maine Black Bears (HEA)	—
26	Aaron McPheters	Sophomore	D	5' 8" (1.73 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	1997-03-25	Anchorage, Alaska	Fairbanks Ice Dogs (NAHL)	—
27	Jeremiah Luedtke	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	159 lb (72 kg)	1994-09-24	Seattle, Washington	Prince George Spruce Kings (BCHL)	—
28	Zach Court	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	1997-01-04	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Merritt Centennials (BCHL)	—
29	Trey deGraaf	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1996-01-30	Red Deer, Alberta	Okotoks Oilers (AJHL)	—
30	Kris Carlson	Freshman	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	1997-08-19	Centreville, Virginia	New Jersey Hitmen (USPHL)	—
39	Kristian Stead	Sophomore	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	1996-10-17	Merritt, British Columbia	Nipawin Hawks (SJHL)	—

Standings

2018–19 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Standings v t e
	Conference record								Overall record
	GP	W	L	T	3/SW	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#6 Minnesota State †*	28	22	5	1	1	68	99	43	42	32	8	2	147	76
Northern Michigan	28	18	8	2	0	56	82	57	39	21	16	2	104	96
#13 Bowling Green	28	16	8	4	3	55	77	52	41	25	11	5	133	75
Lake Superior State	28	16	10	2	0	50	91	69	38	23	13	2	123	93
Bemidji State	28	13	11	4	2	45	71	63	38	15	17	6	95	94
Michigan Tech	28	13	12	3	1	43	68	63	38	14	20	4	90	101
Alaska	28	12	14	2	2	40	57	81	36	12	21	3	72	114
Alabama–Huntsville	28	8	18	2	2	28	61	93	38	8	28	2	67	129
Ferris State	28	7	18	3	0	24	68	96	36	10	23	3	90	123
Alaska Anchorage	28	2	23	3	2	11	29	86	34	3	28	3	40	115
Championship: March 23, 2019 † indicates conference regular season champion (MacNaughton Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Broadmoor Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Site	Decision	Result	Attendance	Record
Exhibition
September 28	7:07 PM	vs. Simon Fraser*	McDonald Center • Eagle River, Alaska (Exhibition)	Carlson	W 5–1	1,500
Regular Season
October 6	7:07 PM	vs. Colorado College*	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Stead	L 2–10	2,101	0–1–0
October 7	7:07 PM	vs. Colorado College*	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Claeys	W 4–3	1,264	1–1–0
October 26	3:07 PM	at Ferris State	Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan	Carlson	L 0–4	1,273	1–2–0 (0–1–0)
October 27	3:07 PM	at Ferris State	Ewigleben Arena • Big Rapids, Michigan	Carlson	L 2–3	1,326	1–3–0 (0–2–0)
November 2	7:07 PM	vs. Bemidji State	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Claeys	L 0–2	1,759	1–4–0 (0–3–0)
November 3	7:07 PM	vs. Bemidji State	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Carlson	L 1–3	1,461	1–5–0 (0–4–0)
November 9	7:07 PM	vs. #10 Bowling Green	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Claeys	T 0–0 ^{3x3 OTL}	1,692	1–5–1 (0–4–1)
November 10	7:07 PM	vs. #10 Bowling Green	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Carlson	L 0–3	2,269	1–6–1 (0–5–1)
November 16	3:07 PM	at Northern Michigan	Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan	Claeys	L 0–3	2,029	1–7–1 (0–6–1)
November 17	3:07 PM	at Northern Michigan	Berry Events Center • Marquette, Michigan	Carlson	L 1–2	1,921	1–8–1 (0–7–1)
November 23	4:37 PM	at #17 North Dakota*	Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota	Carlson	L 2–5	11,155	1–9–1
November 24	4:07 PM	at #17 North Dakota*	Ralph Engelstad Arena • Grand Forks, North Dakota	Stead	L 3–4	11,086	1–10–1
December 7	4:07 PM	at #3 Minnesota State	Verizon Wireless Center • Mankato, Minnesota	Claeys	L 1–4	3,780	1–11–1 (0–8–1)
December 8	4:07 PM	at #3 Minnesota State	Verizon Wireless Center • Mankato, Minnesota	Stead	L 0–6	4,263	1–12–1 (0–9–1)
December 14	4:07 PM	at Bemidji State	Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota	Carlson	L 1–5	2,902	1–13–1 (0–10–1)
December 15	2:07 PM	at Bemidji State	Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minnesota	Claeys	W 2–1 ^OT	2,852	2–13–1 (1–10–1)
December 29	4:07 PM	at Omaha	Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska	Claeys	L 0–3	6,605	2–14–1
December 31	9:07 AM	at Omaha	Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska	Carlson	L 0–4	6,102	2–15–1
January 4	5:07 PM	vs. Lake Superior State	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Carlson	L 2–5	1,902	2–16–1 (1–11–1)
January 5	7:07 PM	vs. Lake Superior State	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Claeys	L 1–3	1,842	2–17–1 (1–12–1)
January 11	7:07 PM	vs. Northern Michigan	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Stead	L 1–5	1,562	2–18–1 (1–13–1)
January 12	7:07 PM	vs. Northern Michigan	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Carlson	L 1–4	1,708	2–19–1 (1–14–1)
January 18	4:07 PM	at Alabama–Huntsville	Von Braun Center • Huntsville, Alabama	Carlson	L 2–6	1,708	2–20–1 (1–15–1)
January 19	5:07 PM	at Alabama–Huntsville	Von Braun Center • Huntsville, Alabama	Stead	L 3–6	1,109	2–21–1 (1–16–1)
January 25	7:07 PM	vs. Michigan Tech	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Carlson	L 0–3	1,711	2–22–1 (1–17–1)
January 26	7:07 PM	vs. Michigan Tech	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Stead	T 0–0 ^SOW	1,958	2–22–2 (1–17–2)
February 8	7:07 PM	at Alaska	Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska (Governor's Cup)	Stead	W 4–1	2,220	3–22–2 (2–17–2)
February 9	7:07 PM	at Alaska	Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska (Governor's Cup)	Stead	L 1–2	2,468	3–23–2 (2–18–2)
February 15	7:07 PM	vs. Ferris State	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Stead	L 1–2	1,585	3–24–2 (2–19–2)
February 16	7:10 PM	vs. Ferris State	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska	Carlson	T 1–1 ^{3x3 OTW}	1,856	3–24–3 (2–19–3)
February 22	3:07 PM	at Michigan Tech	MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, Michigan	Stead	L 2–3	2,323	3–25–3 (2–20–3)
February 23	3:07 PM	at Michigan Tech	MacInnes Student Ice Arena • Houghton, Michigan	Carlson	L 1–3	2,575	3–26–3 (2–21–3)
March 1	7:07 PM	vs. Alaska	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska (Governor's Cup)	Stead	L 0–4	3,009	3–27–3 (2–22–3)
March 2	7:07 PM	vs. Alaska	Sullivan Arena • Anchorage, Alaska (Governor's Cup)	Stead	L 1–2	3,429	3–28–3 (2–23–3)
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Alaska Time. Source:^[3]

Scoring statistics

Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	PIM
Nicolas Erb Ekholm	C/RW	33	6	7	13	14
Jeremiah Luedtke	F	33	7	3	10	16
Carmine Buono	D	29	3	6	9	37
Nils Rygaard	C/RW	33	3	6	9	16
Tomi Hiekkavirta	D	28	1	7	8	14
Drayson Pears	D	32	2	5	7	16
Tanner Schachle	LW	28	2	4	6	56
Trey deGraaf	F	30	0	6	6	6
Jonah Renouf	LW	27	2	3	5	18
Drake Glover	C	29	1	4	5	12
Eric Sinclair	D	33	3	1	4	37
Jordan Xavier	F	21	1	3	4	0
Joe Sofo	F	26	1	3	4	10
Corey Renwick	F	34	1	3	4	17
Zach Court	LW	25	0	3	3	10
Cam Amantea	F	14	2	0	2	40
Aaron McPheters	D	23	1	1	2	22
Andrew Lane	D	23	1	1	2	12
Malcolm Hayes	D	34	0	2	2	16
Jared Nash	C	18	1	0	1	6
Zac Masson	RW	22	1	0	1	16
David Trinkberger	D	26	1	0	1	26
Kristian Stead	G	13	0	1	1	2
Nolan Nicholas	D	33	0	1	1	25
Brody Claeys	G	9	0	0	0	0
Nathan Renouf	LW	10	0	0	0	4
Kris Carlson	G	15	0	0	0	0
Bench	-	-	-	-	-	12
Total			40	70	110	460

^[4]

Goaltending statistics

Name	Games	Minutes	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals Against	Saves	Shut Outs	SV %	GAA
Brody Claeys	9	515	2	5	1	20	234	1	.921	2.33
Kris Carlson	15	850	0	13	1	49	421	0	.896	3.46
Kristian Stead	13	672	1	10	1	41	308	1	.883	3.66
Empty Net	-	19	-	-	-	5	-	-	-	-
Total	34	1058	3	28	3	115	963	2	.893	3.35

Rankings

Poll	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26 (Final)
USCHO.com	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	-	NR
USA Today	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

USCHO did not release a poll in Week 25.^[5]

References

^ "Alaska Anchorage Hockey Media Guide". Go Seawolves.com. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
^ "Univ. of Alaska-Anchorage". Elite Prospects. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
^ "Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (Men) 2018-2019 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
^ "Univ. of Alaska-Anchorage 2018-2019 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2019.

[1] "Alaska Anchorage Hockey Media Guide". Go Seawolves.com. Retrieved May 18, 2018.

[2] "Univ. of Alaska-Anchorage". Elite Prospects. Retrieved February 11, 2018.

[3] "Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (Men) 2018-2019 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2019.

[4] "Univ. of Alaska-Anchorage 2018-2019 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 2, 2020.

[5] "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2019.

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v t e Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey
Playing venues	UAA Sports Center (1979–1983) Sullivan Arena (1983–2019) Avis Alaska Sports Complex (2019–present)
Head coaches	Brush Christiansen (1979–1996) Dean Talafous (1996–2001) John Hill (2001–2005) Dave Shyiak (2005–2013) Matt Thomas (2013–2018) Matt Curley (2018–2021) Matt Shasby (2022–present)
Seasons	1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 ~~2020–21~~ 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Conference affiliations	Great West (1985–1988) WCHA (1993–2021)
Rivalries	Alaska Nanooks
All-time leaders	Statistical leaders Dean Larson (200 Points) Rob Conn/Joey Hayse (76 Goals) Paul Krake (53 Wins)
Retired numbers	79 Brush Christiansen
NCAA Tournament appearances	1990 1991 1992
University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage, AK